Jadestone
by Rythaine Wolf Armageddon
Summary: PPGZ. At the much more tender age of nine years old, Kaoru Matsubara and her brothers learn what it's like to lose someone they love.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Powerpuff Girls or Powerpuff Girls Z **

Chapter 1

Dead silence filled the living room. It wasn't the comfortable silence that friends and family had. No, instead of that silence it was the silence of awkwardness, tension.

No fighting, no sounds of the TV being on, no video games being played, only absolute silence.

There were five people in the room but for all the picturesque, comfy furniture and old-school yet friendly design of it nobody looked like they were enjoying themselves. A boy with spiky dark green hair sat on the couch, watching the two adults sitting at the dining table apprehensively. In front of him a young girl with vastly spikier hair who couldn't have been more than nine knelt down on the couch, her small hands gripping the leather fabric of the arm-rest as her green eyes, full of uncertainty and worry, watched them. Both donned their pyjamas.

Upstairs sleeping soundly in bed, blissfully unaware of what was happening in his house, was the youngest of the children, lost in innocent dreams.

Soft trickle of water pierced the silence as the man took the jug of water and poured it into one of the glasses on the table politely. He was tall, muscular and in his left hand which was on the wooden surface of the table, he was clutching a blue mask with horns.

The woman, a blue-haired beauty, a slender nymph in contrast to a muscled fighter, nodded in thanks. She lifted the glass to her luscious lips and sipped with all the grace of a princess.

The girl turned around to the boy, opening her mouth to say something but he just shook his head, pressing a finger to his lips.

On the table there were forms, official forms for what was about to transpire tonight legal.

Finally someone spoke.

Two weeks ago

"Do you know where your father is?" Keiko Matsubara asked her children who were sitting at the dining-table.

"Wrestling," Daisuke answered, preparing to fling a piece of chicken at Masaru.

Keiko frowned and turned to her only daughter who was prodding at the rice moodily. "Kaoru-chan, didn't he say he was going to pick you up from school earlier?"

"Papa didn't come so anii-chan walked me home," Kaoru mumbled, glaring at her dinner now as if she would like to murder it.

Keiko frowned, her trimmed eyebrows slanting together in irritation. Later that night while Kaoru was walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water, she heard angry yelling coming from the lounge room. 

Confused, she stopped. Tip-toeing to the room she discovered Masaru was standing at the door-way in his pyjamas, peaking from around the corner into the room. A singular rectangle of light cast itself into the corridor, contrasting the darkness of the night.

"Anii-chan, what are you-?" Kaoru started to say but Masaru waved frantically at her, his voice desperate and just above a whisper.

"Nothing, go back to sleep, go!

Kaoru had never been the one to listen, especially when she was curious. Ambling forth, she took up position beside Masaru. Shattering glass, furious screams and yells bombarded the young girl's ears.

"God damn it woman, when will you stop pestering me?!"

Kaoru's green eyes widened in alarm and fear as she heard her father's voice; furious and terrifying.

"You're spending way too much time on your damn wrestling and not enough time with the kids!"

"No, wait Kaoru, don't!" Kaoru ignored her brother's pleas and walked ahead regardless. She froze in the doorway, staring at the scene before her, uncomprehending and afraid.

"It's not up to you how I live my life!"

Yuichi Matsubara was holding his wife by the shoulder with one hand, the other raised high in the air to slap her. A vase was lying on the carpet beside her mother's feet in a million pieces, water spilt everywhere. It was his expression that terrified her the most. His eyebrows were narrowed horribly, his eyes, usually so lively and happy, were enraged and his lips pulled back in a snarl.

Kaoru absorbed all of this in her mind, puzzled and took a step forwards into the room.

Then he slapped her.

She let out a cry of pain and plummeted to the floor hard but the sound of the slap was still ringing in the two children's ears long after.

"Mama!" Kaoru ran to her mother, her paralysis broken. She dropped to her knees beside her mother. Masaru stood in the doorway, the shock on his face morphing to anger.

Kaoru failed to register the significant change in atmosphere as her father, stunned, took a step back.

"It's alright Kaoru-chan, it's alright," Keiko's voice, her mother's reassuring voice that always sung to her beautiful lullabies at night, that always comforted her whenever she was sad, said.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Her father said numbly.

"You two should go back to bed," Keiko said softly, standing and taking Kaoru's hand in hers gently. The other held her aching cheek.

"Mama, are you okay?" Masaru asked anxiously, running up to her.

"Hai, now go on, back to bed," Keiko took Masaru's hand with her free one, guiding them out the door.

"Mama, why were you fighting with papa?" Kaoru's expression when she looked at Keiko then broke her heart. It was innocent and pure, expecting nothing bad, only a simple explanation.

"You don't have to worry about it, your father and I was just having an argument, that's all," Keiko smiled down at them, a forced smile but it was something their minds couldn't perceive.

And in their simple minds, the simple minds of children, they were satisfied.

One week and three days ago

"Ne, anii-chan, why are our parents acting so weird?" Kaoru asked her brother as they lay outside in the back-yard on the cool grass, watching the stars twinkling in the night sky.

"How would I know?" Masaru mumbled.

"I dunno, cos' you're older than me?" Kaoru said, closing her eyes contently as a refreshing breeze passed by.

"I don't have a clue," Masaru replied. He shifted, lifting a finger to point at a space in the sky. "What do you think that constellation is?"

"Eh? But all I see are a bunch of stars," Kaoru squinted hard at the clusters of stars in question.

"Yeah, I was just joking. I forgot what mum taught us," Masaru grinned at her, pulling a goofy face.

"You look like a balloon!" Kaoru laughed, punching him in the arm lightly.

Masaru puffed his cheeks so they expanded even more, making Kaoru laugh even harder at this. When he started going red in the face and his eyes bugged out Kaoru's laughter faded and she asked worriedly, "Anii-chan…?"

He exhaled, gasping for breath. "Remind me never to do that again!" 

"I'm bored. Why are we doing this again?" Kaoru grumbled.

"I nearly choke to death and that's all you have to say?"

Kaoru's reply was interrupted by the sound of screaming, angry screaming. Kaoru and Masaru exchanged confounded glances with each other and clambered to their feet, looking at the back door in apprehension.

There was shouting, more screaming and then something fragile broke. Next minute their father barged out, wearing his wrestling mask with a murderous expression on his face that scared the two senseless.

When he saw the two it changed to forced reassurance, "Ah, what are you two doing out here?"

Too stunned to speak, they simply gawked at their father whose face grew pale underneath the mask. "Oh god, you heard it?"

"What were you guys arguing about this time?" Masaru said hesitantly.

"It was nothing, we were just having an argument," He hitched an unconvincing smile on his face and chuckled nervously, "Why aren't you guys messing around with a soccer ball or something?"

"We were…" Kaoru whimpered. She was clutching Masaru's shirt with both her hands, huddling close to him.

"Kaoru…no, no, don't be scared," He implored when he saw the fear in her face. Kaoru and Masaru would never forget the deep-seated hurt in his eyes or how weak he sounded to her in that moment and that scared them more than anything else.

He took a step forth, then stopped, shoulders sagging. "You kids…you…I'm sorry you're in this."

One week ago

Dinner was tense, thick with reserved anger and frustration. It was a special family dinner tonight, with one of their Aunt and Uncle's family coming.

Special plates and dishes were brought out, with Keiko cooking feverishly to provide the best food. Soon at 7:00pm the smell of rice, steamed vegetables and delicious soup filled the air.

Yet there were was no laughter coming from the house-hold, only polite requests and small talk. Aunt Kaede, usually so talkative, remained relatively quiet. Her two sons, Tai and Hiro, unsure and uncomfortable, ate curtly.

Uncle asked about her daughter about her cheek which was bright red. Yuichi lowered his gaze down to his food determinedly, regret flashing in his eyes.

"I…it's nothing dad. I just tripped over the table the other day," Keiko answered after a short pause, her eyes straying to the food as well.

Kaoru and Masaru's heads snapped to their mother's in stark surprise. She shook her head at them discretely, firmness inscribing itself on the contours of her face.

"Gochisosama," Tai announced, placing the chop-sticks parallel to each other across the now empty plate. While he stood up and walked over to the sink to put the plate away, Uncle continued to gaze at his daughter as if he was sure she was lying.

A few minutes later Yuichi finished and walked over to the sink. Daisuke, unnerved by the silence, stabbed Kaoru in the arm with the pointy end of his fork which still had grains of rice and bits of vegetables sticking on the metal surface and points.

"Itai!!" Kaoru yelped, glaring at him. "Hey, why are you do that?"

"Just because," Daisuke shrugged, somehow managing to look perfectly angelic while still poking her.

"Don't make me hurt you," Kaoru growled, fingers twitching.

He continued to poke. Yuichi watched from the sink where he was washing his plate, watching his children fondly.

"I'm um, going to go to the toilet," Tai said. He glanced between the two adults uneasily, then hurried to his feet and disappeared out the door.

When Hiro and Masaru both said 'Gochisama' at the same time, Daisuke threw his action figures, the ones that were lying on the floor near him, at Kaoru's head.

"Itai!" Kaoru rubbed her head and glowered at Daisuke. He shot her an innocent smile and threw another action figure at her head really hard when she turned back to her dinner.

"You're dead!" Kaoru lunged for him, tackling him off the cushion to the floor. Hiro cheered them on much to the chagrin of his parents but the tension had been shattered somewhat. 

"Where are you going? Is it wrestling again?" Keiko asked in a stiff, cold voice as Yuichi walked to the door.

All the laughter vanished in an instant.

The man paused, his hand on the door-knob. "I'm going to work."

Kaoru and Daisuke paused at that moment, glancing at their parents apprehensively. The positions they were in would have been comical if the mood hadn't changed again. The air seemed to regain that coldness it had attained before they had started fighting.

Keiko's eyes flashed with fury and she stood up, her voice shaking with anger. "You're still going to go wrestling after I told you about the dinner?! I told you to cancel it!" 

"Look, I tried, I really did but Yamamoto won't let me," Yuichi snapped, spinning around.

"Bullshit!" The harsh word slammed into the children's ears like missiles. It sounded ugly and violent, too cruel to be coming out of their mother's lips.

Kaoru slid off Daisuke limply, staring at her mother mouth agape. Similarly, Daisuke stared with his mouth open and eyes wide. 

"Do you know how much time you've been spending at that place?!" Keiko snapped, storming over to Yuichi.

"Just leave me alone would you?! God, ever since I've gotten the promotion you've been at my back day and night! This is a big chance for me alright?!" Yuichi bellowed.

"Mama, papa, don't fight please!" Masaru pleaded.

The two backed down, realizing where they were. Keiko said in a controlled, cold voice, "Dad, Kaede, I'm sorry but can you please leave now?"

They went to bed early that night, listening to their parents' angry voices and shouts through their bedroom walls.

AN: The Powerpuff Girls Z Christmas ep got me wondering about Kaoru's mother and what happened to her, whether she divorced Matsubara Senior or died. I wrote this before the new ending aired so the few pics it showed of her gave me more to work with and a better idea of her personality which I will try my best to portray.


End file.
